In recent years, a type of mobile communications network known as an “ad-hoc” network has been developed. In this type of network, each mobile node is capable of operating as a base station or router for the other mobile nodes, thus eliminating the need for a fixed infrastructure of base stations. As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, network nodes transmit and receive data packet communications in a multiplexed format, such as time-division multiple access (TDMA) format, code-division multiple access (CDMA) format, or frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) format.
More sophisticated ad-hoc networks are also being developed which, in addition to enabling mobile nodes to communicate with each other as in a conventional ad-hoc network, further enable the mobile nodes to access a fixed network and thus communicate with other mobile nodes, such as those on the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and on other networks such as the Internet. Details of these advanced types of ad-hoc networks are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,072,650 entitled “Ad Hoc Peer-to-Peer Mobile Radio Access System Interfaced to the PSTN and Cellular Networks”, filed on Jun. 29, 2001, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,165 entitled “Time Division Protocol for an Ad-Hoc, Peer-to-Peer Radio Network Having Coordinating Channel Access to Shared Parallel Data Channels with Separate Reservation Channel”, filed on Mar. 22, 2001, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,839 entitled “Prioritized-Routing for an Ad-Hoc, Peer-to-Peer, Mobile Radio Access System”, filed on Mar. 22, 2001, the entire content of each being incorporated herein by reference.
Ad-hoc and mesh networks, both wired and wireless, have become increasingly pervasive in various industrial and commercial markets. These types of networks are also becoming available for use in consumer markets for digital home applications, as well as many others including business offices, concerts, conventions, small businesses, and farms.
Applications in the home include next generation security systems, multi media distribution, computer networking, and home control functions. These may exist as independent networks or, more likely, over time they will be integrated into a single multi-function network. All of these networks comprise a number of nodes, and, in an integrated network of sensors, control and multimedia sections could reasonably be anticipated to include a hundred nodes or more.
The ability of a typical consumer, such as a homeowner, to deploy these nodes quickly and simply is crucial to their commercial success. Each device can be a small low cost component of the system, either stand alone, like a sensor, or an integrated part of a device like a stereo system. Commercial and military systems that exist demonstrate that such systems today are very difficult to deploy and manage, since issues such as administration and security are of great concern. Convincing consumers that these networks are easy to deploy and secure is thus paramount to their success. These issues apply similarly to users in other settings, such as small office settings and the like. A need therefore exists for a tool that will enable users, especially technically unsophisticated users, to more easily administer and deploy such nodes in networks such as ad-hoc peer-to-peer networks.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.